qualify yrself fer u.s. citizenship

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http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/07/what-if-you-had-to-earn-american-citizenship/309398/

do you make the cut?

Poll Results

OptionVotes
30-49: Citizenship attained 30
50 or higher: Citizenship attained, with distinction 14
20-29: Probationary citizenship (must retake test in one year) 4
0-19: Citizenship denied 1


j., Sunday, 23 June 2013 01:31 (ten years ago) link

47

i don't even have an internet (Hurting 2), Sunday, 23 June 2013 01:42 (ten years ago) link

34. Canadian.

oxygenating our wombspace (abanana), Sunday, 23 June 2013 02:08 (ten years ago) link

56

DJP, Sunday, 23 June 2013 02:12 (ten years ago) link

shit i think that means you have to be a senator in the new order, i'm not sure though, i didn't get a 56

j., Sunday, 23 June 2013 02:17 (ten years ago) link

49

tokyo rosemary, Sunday, 23 June 2013 02:22 (ten years ago) link

44. i fucked up my famous document quotations.

call all destroyer, Sunday, 23 June 2013 02:37 (ten years ago) link

Your Citizenship Score:39
Citizenship attained.

I think I've been to the US for a total of two weeks, so happy enough.

10zing blogay (seandalai), Sunday, 23 June 2013 02:46 (ten years ago) link

32. Not an American. Got all the references right at least

sonderborg, Sunday, 23 June 2013 02:48 (ten years ago) link

19 :/ guess i won't be getting my passport

just1n3, Sunday, 23 June 2013 03:04 (ten years ago) link

i got all the questions right but do not contribute to the health of my community in any of the following ways: 52

bertolt brecht would not be proud of (mookieproof), Sunday, 23 June 2013 03:16 (ten years ago) link

I got a 36. Considering I went to public school in the South, I think that's pretty damn good.

Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Sunday, 23 June 2013 03:19 (ten years ago) link

The "how do you contribute to the health of your community" bit threw me off. Where's the tickbox for "buying things/paying sales tax"?

Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Sunday, 23 June 2013 03:20 (ten years ago) link

49

Ⓓⓡ. (Johnny Fever), Sunday, 23 June 2013 03:20 (ten years ago) link

43

Drugs A. Money, Sunday, 23 June 2013 03:23 (ten years ago) link

45 and im not even american wtf

We have the advantage of forced voting here. I wonder if that helps the score?

It is like ganging up on Enya (Trayce), Sunday, 23 June 2013 03:24 (ten years ago) link

a while ago i took an online test to determine my eligibility for immigration to canada -- i can't find it now tho. i could just pass if i overstated my knowledge of french/someone offered me a job. maybe if i had skills or something

bertolt brecht would not be proud of (mookieproof), Sunday, 23 June 2013 03:25 (ten years ago) link

i guessed a LOT of the match up stuff but some of it seemed... i dunno, obvious educated guesses tbh.

It is like ganging up on Enya (Trayce), Sunday, 23 June 2013 03:25 (ten years ago) link

you can learn a lot of american civics from the simpsons iirc

bertolt brecht would not be proud of (mookieproof), Sunday, 23 June 2013 03:26 (ten years ago) link

43, but I lied about my philanthropy....

Neanderthal, Sunday, 23 June 2013 03:26 (ten years ago) link

I got all the match-up stuff, missed two of the buildings and most of the Justices.

Neanderthal, Sunday, 23 June 2013 03:27 (ten years ago) link

I popped out here. They wrote it down and saved the papers at the courthouse.

(**does the Happy Citizenship Dance!**)

Aimless, Sunday, 23 June 2013 03:30 (ten years ago) link

54.

EZ Snappin, Sunday, 23 June 2013 03:31 (ten years ago) link

50

WilliamC, Sunday, 23 June 2013 03:32 (ten years ago) link

what's the 'distinction' you all got? are you like mega-citizens now?

Neanderthal, Sunday, 23 June 2013 03:34 (ten years ago) link

added to no-kill list

j., Sunday, 23 June 2013 03:38 (ten years ago) link

i used to teach citizenship classes (right at the moment they changed the test) and i developed a game show type slide show to practice the questions. It's available upon request (assuming I can find it)

free your spirit pig (La Lechera), Sunday, 23 June 2013 03:39 (ten years ago) link

in the Arizona version, contestants have to stop and show the host identification every ten minutes.

Neanderthal, Sunday, 23 June 2013 03:47 (ten years ago) link

45.

Romantic style in da world (crüt), Sunday, 23 June 2013 03:54 (ten years ago) link

62. bfd.

Aimless, Sunday, 23 June 2013 03:56 (ten years ago) link

^^ it's because I voted in every election: primaries, general and special, for decades now and I do campaign phone banking most general elections. But that question had no place in a test for prospective citizens, because they can't vote. I don't consider my charitable donations to be philanthropy, so i suppose I could have scored a bit higher.

Aimless, Sunday, 23 June 2013 04:01 (ten years ago) link

i have taken the actual citizenship test. these questions are considerably harder.

fit and working again, Sunday, 23 June 2013 04:02 (ten years ago) link

aimless, i think the idea might have been to measure your civicmindedness no matter where you were coming from? ruff on stateless applicants i guess

j., Sunday, 23 June 2013 04:06 (ten years ago) link

just fyi -- lots of info about the actual test/policies available direct from the source:
http://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume12-PartE.html

the test was changed substantially in 2006 iirc? i think it was the summer of 2006 that i taught that class, i can't remember exactly -- but we were riiiiight between the two tests, and i had to revise the materials substantially in order to prepare the students for the new test, which is the one they would be eligible to take. all of the textbooks/materials the school had were obsolete.

i also taught a general civics education course that was part of a pilot project. a complete failure, but it was a mess to begin with. anyway, i kinda work in this field in a tangential way and people's opinions about civic responsibility interest me, in general. the end.

free your spirit pig (La Lechera), Sunday, 23 June 2013 04:12 (ten years ago) link

60. Similar reasons to Aimless plus I know my Supremes.

carl agatha, Sunday, 23 June 2013 04:13 (ten years ago) link

49. i screwed up the faces/names of some justices.

Clay, Sunday, 23 June 2013 04:15 (ten years ago) link

yeah the test changed in 2008. There are 100 possible questions. You get asked ten and have to get six right:

US Citizenship Interview Test Questions

fit and working again, Sunday, 23 June 2013 04:17 (ten years ago) link

why the sudden interest in it now?

free your spirit pig (La Lechera), Sunday, 23 June 2013 04:18 (ten years ago) link

43. i answered all of the questions correctly but this was still my score.

Treeship, Sunday, 23 June 2013 04:18 (ten years ago) link

why the sudden interest in it now?

Immigration bills in congress is my guess.

Ⓓⓡ. (Johnny Fever), Sunday, 23 June 2013 04:22 (ten years ago) link

68. but i feel like i'm getting unfair credits because we have municipal elections in odd-numbered years so i vote a lot.

Guayaquil (eephus!), Sunday, 23 June 2013 04:22 (ten years ago) link

i have some teaching materials produced by the us gov intended to inform/educate immigrants about the census
it's pretty interesting, i think, but no one has ever paid a lot of attention to this sort of education in the past
that's why i was wondering

free your spirit pig (La Lechera), Sunday, 23 June 2013 04:23 (ten years ago) link

52.

This Is My Design, and I Used Helvetica (Viceroy), Sunday, 23 June 2013 04:34 (ten years ago) link

wowed by all the politically active, philanthropic volunteers that I rub shoulders with every day...

Drugs A. Money, Sunday, 23 June 2013 05:11 (ten years ago) link

36

Hi i am your great fan suces (jjjusten), Sunday, 23 June 2013 05:20 (ten years ago) link

Basically if you are a white dude on the Supreme Court and not heart attack Scalia, to me, you are a cipher.

Hi i am your great fan suces (jjjusten), Sunday, 23 June 2013 05:21 (ten years ago) link

Also a lot of *drinky drinky motion with hand*

Hi i am your great fan suces (jjjusten), Sunday, 23 June 2013 05:22 (ten years ago) link

hey you made it dude, you're set for life

not sure whether i got breyer and kennedy right, didn't bother checking

j., Sunday, 23 June 2013 05:25 (ten years ago) link

breyer vs kennedy is a piece of cake

Aimless, Sunday, 23 June 2013 05:28 (ten years ago) link

yeah i just guessed on those

Drugs A. Money, Sunday, 23 June 2013 05:38 (ten years ago) link

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

System, Saturday, 13 July 2013 00:01 (ten years ago) link

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

System, Sunday, 14 July 2013 00:01 (ten years ago) link

two years pass...

http://www.bbc.com/news/35383435

this is absolutely bonkers

F♯ A♯ (∞), Wednesday, 10 February 2016 18:06 (eight years ago) link

Huh. Never heard of this before. I er know of someone who's lived in the UK for 12 years and has never filed a US tax return in that time. They have a building society account rather than bank. Not sure if that makes any difference.

Just noise and screaming and no musical value at all. (Colonel Poo), Wednesday, 10 February 2016 18:12 (eight years ago) link

i vaguely remember an american colleague filing her us taxes in canada years ago, but i didn't know the exact details. this man in a suit with a briefcase would show up at random times. "he's the irs man!" she exclaimed. he would come by every year to remind her that she had to submit her paperwork. like something out of a kafka story

F♯ A♯ (∞), Wednesday, 10 February 2016 18:57 (eight years ago) link

I have a U.S.-born U.K. facebook friend who brings this up every year around tax time. It's been giving her hell apparently.

how's life, Wednesday, 10 February 2016 19:12 (eight years ago) link

this is absolutely bonkers

what does the US and Eritrea have in common

Mordy, Wednesday, 10 February 2016 20:52 (eight years ago) link

A law that actually got passed following the 2010 elections is a fucking grease fire creating "unintended" consequences for ordinary working American citizens.

Sith Dog (El Tomboto), Thursday, 11 February 2016 01:57 (eight years ago) link

Wow, etc.

Sith Dog (El Tomboto), Thursday, 11 February 2016 01:58 (eight years ago) link

one year passes...

kids

papa infinity got his interview scheduled

if all goes well, soon i'lll be a proud american my babies

will post the q&a i'm supposed to study soon

i n f i n i t y (∞), Friday, 5 May 2017 05:16 (six years ago) link

will you be renouncing loyalty to hexylvania

j., Friday, 5 May 2017 05:21 (six years ago) link

will tone down the shenanigans eat lots of burgers and pledge allegiance to the flag and to the republic for which it stands one nation under god indivisible with liberty and justice for all

i n f i n i t y (∞), Friday, 5 May 2017 05:30 (six years ago) link

you didn't answer the question

j., Friday, 5 May 2017 05:41 (six years ago) link

flag'm!

j., Friday, 5 May 2017 05:41 (six years ago) link

A hacker should break into the server and replace that picture of Scalia with a rotting corpse.

El Tuomasbot (milo z), Friday, 5 May 2017 06:04 (six years ago) link

whats the supreme law of the land

i n f i n i t y (∞), Monday, 8 May 2017 16:34 (six years ago) link

here's some good polls to brush up on

U.S. Code Titles THE POLL

US Government Publishing Office Bestsellers: The Poll

your cognitive privilege (El Tomboto), Monday, 8 May 2017 16:54 (six years ago) link

good luck ∞ !!!

schlump, Tuesday, 9 May 2017 02:26 (six years ago) link

Why the fuck would you board the Titanic now?

Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr, and Violent J (誤訳侮辱), Tuesday, 9 May 2017 03:10 (six years ago) link

the more the merrier dude, pass it already

your cognitive privilege (El Tomboto), Tuesday, 9 May 2017 03:19 (six years ago) link

whats the supreme law of the land

― i n f i n i t y (∞), Monday, May 8, 2017 9:34 AM (two days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

fyi the constitution yo

i n f i n i t y (∞), Wednesday, 10 May 2017 16:33 (six years ago) link

good luck ∞ !!!

― schlump, Monday, May 8, 2017 7:26 PM (two days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

thank you!

i n f i n i t y (∞), Wednesday, 10 May 2017 16:33 (six years ago) link

tom those are good links

i received a citizenship booklet with 100 questions and answers

it says i'll be asked 10 of those randomly but i've talked to five people that have had very different interviewing experiences (two didn't even get asked questions -- HUH)

i n f i n i t y (∞), Wednesday, 10 May 2017 16:36 (six years ago) link

what does the constitution do

i n f i n i t y (∞), Wednesday, 10 May 2017 16:43 (six years ago) link

I took it twice in two different browsers and it resets all the answers and doesn't give me a score. HOW WILL I EVER KNOW IF I'M A CITIZEN NOW?!??

the world's little sunbeam (in orbit), Wednesday, 10 May 2017 17:19 (six years ago) link

it's old enough the original site doesn't work anymore

mh, Wednesday, 10 May 2017 17:24 (six years ago) link

on the bright side, no one ever needs identify scalia again

mh, Wednesday, 10 May 2017 17:24 (six years ago) link

it says i'll be asked 10 of those randomly but i've talked to five people that have had very different interviewing experiences (two didn't even get asked questions -- HUH)

My wife wasn't asked any questions when she went in. They just swore everybody in her group in. That was many years ago, though. Under Trump they'll probably ask you something in Spanish, and if you understand, you get deported to Mexico (no matter your actual country of origin).

Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr, and Violent J (誤訳侮辱), Wednesday, 10 May 2017 17:29 (six years ago) link

the constitution is this thing you can use in order to carry a gun into public places so you can protect everyone if and when there is a shootout.

Karl Malone, Wednesday, 10 May 2017 17:30 (six years ago) link

it's interesting how the book (provided by us department of homeland security) sets you up to become/side with republicans

been reading a lot about people's experiences from when they naturalized in the past few months and everyone says it's super easy

i n f i n i t y (∞), Wednesday, 10 May 2017 17:53 (six years ago) link

spoke with this mexican fella and he had been using 5 different names, was deported once, and had outstanding fines (forget for what), and according to him, they didn't ask him any questions

they asked if he had other names he went by and if he was ever deported, he said yes to all of it, and the officer offered him citizenship

i n f i n i t y (∞), Wednesday, 10 May 2017 17:56 (six years ago) link

what does the constitution do

― i n f i n i t y (∞), Wednesday, May 10, 2017 9:43 AM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

sets up gov't
defines gov't
protects basic rights of americans

i n f i n i t y (∞), Wednesday, 10 May 2017 17:58 (six years ago) link

extreme vetting

your cognitive privilege (El Tomboto), Wednesday, 10 May 2017 17:59 (six years ago) link

Back in the day when I had a top secret government clearance, the advice I was given was to be utterly transparent and not lie about anything; the main concern wasn't, for example, whether you had smoked pot in college, but whether smoking pot in college was something you were trying to hide and could be used against you by someone attempting to blackmail you. I assume it's similar for the citizenship test; clearly just being a citizen doesn't automatically put you near sensitive information but it's a pathway that could end up near sensitive information and they are looking to see if the people getting it are obviously susceptible to pressure from outside forces based on what they are willing to reveal and what they are trying to hide.

PJD PDJ DPJ (DJP), Wednesday, 10 May 2017 18:01 (six years ago) link

i remember waiting to be interviewed sitting next to a pakistani guy and an indian guy, we were trying to figure out how it worked. some people went through one door & never came out. others came out the same door with more paperwork. we were all still v fearful of being sent home or whatever & the questions we asked each other about what we thought was happening were slightly comedic
it's like some pearly gates shit in those rooms

i got asked 5 of the easiest questions which was fine but i was kinda mad, like wtf did i study for, i could have answered those
and i came back into the waiting room and was told to wait some more

then me and 4 other ppl were led to another door off the waiting room, into what looked like a broom closet. they had milk crates stackedup as a kind of makeshift podium/desk for the INS guy, american flag loosely arranged on the wall behind him & we stood shoulder to shoulder on a rubber mat and he swore us in. we recited the oath & we were done
we were like *blink*
that's it?

it was weird

but i cried when i left because i was SO happy to never have to go in that awful building again

Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 10 May 2017 18:18 (six years ago) link

congrats veg

hoping mine goes as smooth as yours

i n f i n i t y (∞), Wednesday, 10 May 2017 18:20 (six years ago) link

good luck!! mine was like 8 or 9 years ago :)

Yoni Loves Chocha (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 10 May 2017 18:25 (six years ago) link

thx :s

i n f i n i t y (∞), Wednesday, 10 May 2017 18:26 (six years ago) link

https://youtu.be/0cvW_2uIBQs

sleepingbag, Wednesday, 10 May 2017 18:37 (six years ago) link

i used to teach citizenship classes to help people get ready for the test. when they changed the test, i had to redo all of my materials but it was pretty fun. i didn't mind.

weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Wednesday, 10 May 2017 20:59 (six years ago) link

one month passes...

I'm officially a US citizen

i n f i n i t y (∞), Tuesday, 20 June 2017 17:51 (six years ago) link

did you have to go to a ceremony?

new noise, Tuesday, 20 June 2017 17:56 (six years ago) link

Yes

i n f i n i t y (∞), Tuesday, 20 June 2017 17:56 (six years ago) link

how was it? when i had mine it was quite a touching event.

new noise, Tuesday, 20 June 2017 17:59 (six years ago) link

something i wrote for someone back then:

I went to the naturalization ceremony where my citizenship became official. It was held at a theater downtown. When I got there I was shown to a seat near the front with my fellow citizens-to-be. There was marching music playing and right after I sat down the tune used for the theme of Monty Python started. Weird. I had an hour to wait before the ceremony started proper. People were still showing up during that time. The crowd was made up mostly of older people -- 40s/50s/60s -- and I was in a white minority. The ceremony was presided over by a judge who was from Mexico originally and had himself become a citizen 40 years ago. There was a class of kids on the stage who sang a couple of patriotic songs. A few of the kids read short essays on what was great about America. One kids mentioned freedom of religion, how there are "Christians, Hindus, Muslims ... and EVEN Jewish people." Another said how her mom was from Norway and who said Norway was beautiful but that she "liked having freedom." I had to suppress laughter. We all had to stand and pledge the oath of allegiance. Then the judge read out some numbers, how many of us were there, how many were from certain countries (the most: Mexico, then Brazil and Pakistan). He had people raise their hand if they wanted to say something. He'd ask them where they were from, how long it took them to go through the process, what it meant to them, etc. Becoming a citizen is just paperwork for someone like me but for some of these people it's obviously a huge deal and what some of them had to say was quite touching. There was a lot of happy people there, the whole ceremony has the air of a celebration. And that was it. I was given my naturalization certificate as I left.

new noise, Tuesday, 20 June 2017 18:01 (six years ago) link

It was interesting!

It was a little bittersweet but I have dual citizenship now so it's okay

Yes, I was probably one of few white people there. Nobody shared stories. They read what countries were represented the most; in order, the top 5: Mexico, Philippines, China, Guatemala, El Salvador (I don't remember exactly the last two countries)

It was touching to see so many immigrants who had gone through a lot to become a citizen. Even though the judge said we did it the hard way, I still thought I had it pretty easy, despite my interview being extremely shocking to me. The judge also said we value most what we work hard for. I think I can agree with that

How long ago was yours?

i n f i n i t y (∞), Tuesday, 20 June 2017 18:11 (six years ago) link

mine was in 2010. i'm curious... at mine we were shown a video of obama welcoming us to the country. is there a similar trump video?

new noise, Tuesday, 20 June 2017 18:23 (six years ago) link

and forgive me if i missed this upthread... shocking interview?

new noise, Tuesday, 20 June 2017 18:25 (six years ago) link

I was looking for this, as well

I moved to the US in 2011 and, at least in Los Angeles, I saw Obama's picture in a lot of places. After Trump was elected, Obama's pictures were taken down and have not been replaced with anything

So, no, I saw (and see) no trace of Trump, which makes sense in a state like California

We were shown a video of monuments and pictures of immigrants since the country first gained independence

i n f i n i t y (∞), Tuesday, 20 June 2017 18:29 (six years ago) link

welcome to hell

AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Tuesday, 20 June 2017 21:40 (six years ago) link


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